Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno Fools Alabama National Guard

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The actor best known as "Borat" tricked the Alabama National Guard into allowing him onto a post, giving him a military uniform and briefly letting him train _ all, supposedly, for a German TV documentary.

The ruse, which included comedian Sacha Baron Cohen exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes, was going well until a young cadet recognized Cohen and notified older officers who weren't familiar with the actor.

"It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard," Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons said Monday. "Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again."

A film crew pulled the stunt Feb. 13 at the Alabama Military Academy, which trains officer candidates from across the nation. The school is located at the Army's old Fort McClellan in Anniston, about 65 miles east of Birmingham.

Footage from the visit could be included in Cohen's upcoming movie featuring his character Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion writer. The reported title is "Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America For The Purpose Of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable In The Presence Of A Gay Foreigner In A Mesh T-Shirt."

Cohen's spokesman, Matthew Labov, declined comment.

Guard officials who let Cohen and his crew into the Alabama base initially believed they were helping foreign journalists.

"They called and said they were a German affiliate of a TV station doing a documentary on what it was like to be in officer candidate school," said Timmons. "They wanted to know if they could come here and embed one person for a few hours up to a day."

Military officials met Cohen and his crew at the gate.

"He was treated like a member of the media and escorted around. He was put in a uniform like he requested to allow him to get a taste of what it was like to be an officer candidate," she said.

The actor's schtick should sound familiar. Cohen portrayed uncouth journalist Borat Sagdiyev in the 2006 hit "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which he traveled the United States fooling people with gags.

The film included a scene shot at a dinner party in suburban Birmingham.

Comments

[strangerinthenight]

Why all these antics for attention ?

[ErikW65]

To make people laugh while turning a profit on movies.

[Tim303]

To expose homophobia.

[MDCambridge]

To make fun of someone by taking advantage of someone's trust and their attempts to be hospitable is simply reprehensible. This isn't comedy, it is a first cousin to the cowardice portrayed in adolescent bullying. The difference being that a bully preys on physical differences; Cohen disingenuously preys on honorable intentions. It is comedic cowardice.

_

[ErikW65]

Allowing people to expose their latent prejudices, is not only humorously entertaining, but also interestingly revealing sociologically. And that takes creativity as well as bravery. Ironically, you could say that the people "being made fun of" are the real bullies, if the jaundiced views exposed are malevolent enough. (Guess you didn't see Borat at the rodeo just after the invasion of Iraq.)

[Tim303]

No doubt--all you have to do is watch Bruno cheerleading in Alabama to figure that out.

[JFaye]

The greater issue here is security. Obviously military protocol for official security clearance was overlooked. Why? Even members of the press are required to have a security clearance for access to military bases and certain government offices or events. What credentials did he present? There is tighter security at professional football games.

[ErikW65]

That's right. Comedy can and has served a variety of functions including educating the public, when and where no one else will.

[TheAtomicPunk]

I thought Ali G was funny to a certain point, but I'm just not a fan of comedy that tricks people. I don't like to laugh *at* others, I prefer comedy that's inclusive or makes some kind of constructive point. It's really easy to make people look stupid, they even had Buzz Aldrin on the Ali G show (an MIT grad student and the second man on the moon) and made *him* look silly, give me a break! What I wouldn't give to talk for 5 minutes with Buzz Aldrin, that would be one of the greatest moments of my life, and all this Cohen guy did was waste his opportunity so he could get a cheap laugh. All he seems to be doing is eroding what little transparency we have from people in positions of power.

[antaeus]

His critique is essentially political and cultural. It has nothing to do with IQ per se. Do you really think that a person with great intelligence and technical knowledge can't maintain odious political views at the same time? That's absurd!

That being said, I think "Borat" was a lot better than "Ali G."

[parkerfly38]

I like SBC, he's funny. A lot of military folks watched Borat and "got it." For commenters that automatically assume the Alabama National Guard is filled with rednecks, while you sit at home and push that kind of moronacy, they've been overseas fighting an unpopular war.

So, yeah, go SBC, shame that awful military of ours, and thankfully help people here expose what they really are as much as you do the guard.

[antaeus]

You're right that the service is no monolith. I've heard from Iraq vets from both ends of the political spectrum.

But before you go all maudlin on us, invoking the selfless soldier, acknowledge that one of the implications of an all-volunteer service is a degree of responsibility when political leaders make bad decisions. It's not 1942, although I recognize that pentagon types like to perpetuate the notion of the selfless warrior. But when people join the service as careerists, when they volunteer to be hired, professional soldiers, as opposed to citizen soldiers rushing to aid in emergencies, then they are bound to come in for some of the heat when their efforts are used to further ill-conceived wars and unfair policies.

[SILVANUS]

I think there's a certain ugliness in his humor.

I can laugh at lots of things - Chris Rock, John Waters' Divine films, even Sam Kinison at his angriest - but I don't like this guy. Like Andrew Dice Clay, there's a certain 'screw-eve­ryone-but-­me-I-reall­y-hate-you­-all' thing going on.

[antaeus]

Talk about casting a wide net! There's a range of serious political content among the population you list. Cohen's not immune to class-clownism, but he packs a serious political punch.

[mapleaforever]

Lighten up, Francis.

[TheAtomicPunk]

Agreed, he doesn't seem constructive at all.

[snesich]

I love it! You go, Sacha!

[Balzac]

He's funny as hell.

[DeeW]

I so don't get this guy's humor. The fact that people don't recognize him means he's not that popular. Making fun of yourself is funny - making fun of other people is childish ... and wears thin after a while.

[esiom]

"The fact that people don't recognize him means he's not that popular". Do please give me a call whenever your point actually comes into focus.

Perhaps people don't recognize Sasha Baron Cohen for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons might include:

- Each of the characters he plays looks different (from the other characters and from the comedian himself).

- The people he lampoons tend to be small minded folk with little intellectual curiosity.

If how much your recognized is the benchmark of popularity, can you please explain Dick Cheney?

[Goefel]

It's obvious that Ron Paul has been a critic of Mid-East Policy and Sasha Baron-Cohen has made this a hit-job to do some damage to the Congressman's Ron Paul's career. (other part of movie) The National Guard of Alabama is just re-hashed images of southern rednecks for northern audiences to snicker at.

[Zofomofo]

The "young cadet' should be ashamed, he ruined a great bit!

[TomSawyer]

I can't wait for this movie!!! hell ya!

Borat is the critic of our generation O_0

[IdocNC]

Loved Borat,loved Ali G,I cannot wait for this movie also! What a comedic genius,I really feel sorry for those who do not understand the point of his satire. I only wish he didnt have to retire the characters after a movie. Booya kasha!

[equivocator]

If a dude strips in front of you without provocation and you're offended, that doesn't mean you're homophobic. It's called harrassment, and I'm surprised that we're willing to defend this behavior simply because the targets are rednecks and conservatives. When it was Anita Hill, we were outraged, but when it's the Alabama National Guard, it's funny.

[Zofomofo]

whhaaaaaaa­aaaaaahhhh­!

[petecook5]

Anita hill was being harassed by her immediate superior. there's a big difference.

[Cynth]

The harassment of Anita Hill involved a supervisor making direct, constistent, and sexually explicit comments to her (asking who put p*bic hair on his coke can, talking about p*rn stars, et al.) This does not compare. The context here involved SBC/Bruno "exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes," which sounds like it was a comic send up of a routine activity among cadets, who often to change in front of one another. There doesn't seem to be any intention or pattern of harassment. And just because one's offended by something doesn't mean one is being harassed by someone.

[mystic]

I wonder if the pope wears a pastoral thong?

[MrJoyboy]

Only around the altar boys.

[Jared15]

MrJoyBoy will be here all night, ladies and gentlemen. Please, tip your waitresses.

[rasputin999]

Ah, I see the anti catholic brigade have crashed the party.
What has the Pope got to do with this story?
The anti catholic racists never miss a chance for a dig at the catholic church.

[mrmenschjosh]

Big deal, just another lame attempt at poking fun at the safest lowest common denominator: American rednecks. Real genius would be pulling this off in say the streets of say Tunisia, Morocco, Addis Ababa, Egypt, or Turkey, maybe you could take this to a favela in Brazil and try it there, that would be real entertainment. Hey Baron, we could watch both perspectives; one from you ridiculing unsuspecting people and another of you and your film crew running for your lives. Awesome...

[Kaila]

Are you freakin serious? He's not making fun of rednecks he makes fun of EVERYBODY and he makes fun of them by exposing their own prejudices (and frankly as miserable as rednecks make things for gays who live near them, they deserve to be called out.). As you recall, in Borat he lampooned a group of feminists too. Why if somebody is doing one thing good, do people constantly accuse them of not saving the entire world? Why aren't YOU in Tunisia?

[mrmenschjosh]

Have been to Tunisia many times, try the seafood cous-cous, it's to die for... The point is racial prejudice, misogyny, etc exist everywhere. These issues certainly flourish in the UK and are most acutely prevalent in many other countries. I find his fixation on the US troubling in the context that we are one of the few countries open enough to pull off his boring, amateurish stunts and not be brutally bludgeoned while shooting. There is no genius here just illustration of the obvious.

[frynpan]

I liked Borat as well, but he does tend to pick on "the south" more than any other group. In a way it is playing to people's negative stereotypes... their are many types of rednecks..they shouldn't all be lumped into one group.

[elkabong]

Tell it to Jeff Foxworthy.

[Jaskoen]

Don't you think sticking to countries in which he actually speaks the language should be taken into consideration?